Transportation Flight drivers get second look at 'war wagon'

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jay Ponder
  • 908th Ailift Wing Public Affairs
MAXWELL AFB, Ala. --  A piece of Air Force history arrived at Maxwell in April. A gun truck was shipped here having completed its mission and bearing the scars of battle.

The gun truck currently sits in the transportation yard near the 25th Aerial Port Squadron awaiting finalization of plans to display it at the Enlisted Heritage Hall at Gunter Annex.

The front of the gun truck shows obvious signs of battle-damage by shrapnel and lead. The GT was driven by Air Force personnel and that is why the Heritage Hall wants to place it on display, said William Chivalette, EHH curator.

Seeing a gun truck similar to those operated while conducting convoy duty in Southwest Asia in 2004 brings forth mixed emotions for five 908th Logistics Readiness Squadron Transportation Flight members.

The five spent eight months deployed overseas supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The gun truck started out as a five-ton flatbed, said Tech. Sgt. Steven Smith, one of the deployers. The truck has a turret in the middle of the cab roof where a .50-caliber machine gun would be attached during convoys.

Unlike trucks first used in the desert, this truck is heavily armored with quarter-inch steel. The final weight, Mr. Chivalette said, is over 32,000 pounds. Mr. Chivalette, a Vietnam veteran said the GT reminded him of the old deuce and a half’s used during the Vietnam era.

Sergeant Smith and Transportation Flight members Master Sgts. George Campbell and Vera Berry, Tech. Sgt. Cynthia Blais and Staff Sgt. John Traum recalled some of their experiences.

Sergeant Blais admitted that she had mixed emotions about going to the desert. “I didn’t really want to be there but I was glad to be with the group I was with. I wouldn’t leave home without them,” she said with a grin.

And after much discussion, the group made the decision to go together. When they returned home, they were awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

“We have been together here for 15 years and we all decided to go together,” Sergeant Smith said. “If any of us went, we all would and make a go of it.”

Sergeant Traum helped lay LAN cable in the desert to have connectivity, “so people could talk back to their families at home,” he said.

Unlike at home station where you get what you need, the Airmen learned to “scrounge” for their needs. “We had to scrounge for everything including beds and even tape,” Sergeant Smith said. The dining facilities, manned by contractors, were nice, he said.

The sergeant worked at an airfield near Fallujah, assisting the Marines. The work was demanding. Working around the clock, airfield workers loaded and unloaded 17 to 24 C5s and C17s each day. “We probably carried over 150 tons of cargo per day,” Sergeant Smith estimated.

The work wasn’t without dangers. The sergeant said there were nearly 100 mortar round attacks on the airfield while he was there.

Convoys comprised of approximately 60 trucks traveled mostly from Kuwait City to Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, Sergeant Smith said. If an improvised explosive device was discovered on or near a road, authorities would declare the road closed, he added.

When this happened, the convoy could be stuck at whatever base camp they were at the time. The road sometimes could be closed for several days to a week, said Sergeant Blais, who worked in maintenance supply at Balad Air Base, where she was responsible for the ordering of all parts for the trucks.

Some of the roads were very rough, sometimes just a path in the middle of the desert,” said Sergeant Traum.

Sergeant Vera Berry said of her experience driving the GT, “it was both nerve wracking and exhilarating driving the truck.”

“I had never driven a GT before that,” she said of her convoy experiences.

When Sergeant Berry first drove, she asked the gunner what she should do and he replied; “Stay in the middle of the road, avoid bumps and don’t let anyone into the convoy.”

Not allowing people to pass or intermingle with the convoy minimized possible attacks conducted from the car such as small arms fire or bombs. When they first arrived there at Balad/Camp Anaconda, the trucks were still mostly unarmored and the GTs had no air-conditioning.

“It was hectic wearing all the gear inside the truck and hot,” said Sergeant Campbell, “it was 150 – 170 degrees inside the cab and a cool 130 degrees outside.

Riding inside the cab was cramped, hot, dirty and noisy, said Sergeant Traum.

The group learned fast while enduring the adverse conditions presented by the climate and the nature of their jobs. “We carried plenty of water,” said Sergeant Campbell, “if a convoy went on a two-day trip, we carried supplies for a two to five day trip. We would restock with ice and water every time we hit a different camp.”

Sergeant Traum said he thought the armor made a difference, especially after seeing the results of attacks on their vehicles, but armor did not deter the bad guys.

“You could see the RPG coming at you,” said Sergeant Berry, “you could see it coming out of the corner of your eye.”

She would then radio the vehicles following behind warning them of the RPG attack.

“When you’re watching this stuff firsthand,” said Sergeant Berry, “it hits you, this is real!”

A year later the small band of brothers at Transportation Flight have their memories and an inseparable bond. “The five of us are a lot closer group now,” said Sergeant Traum.

Mr. Chivalette hopes the gun-truck display will be complete by end of the year.